A law placing an emphasis on third grade reading standards will affect elementary students throughout Lenoir County.

Ellen Benton, executive director of instruction for Lenoir County Public Schools, said the Read to Achieve Program was passed as part of the Excellent Public Schools Act, which became law in July 2012. The law, which took effect for the 2013-14 school year, is designed to ensure every student reads up to or at grade level by the end of third grade.

Benton said there are five components to the law, including one where schools need to show things are being done during the school year in grades K-3 to make sure students are getting the instruction they need.

“Even though this is a third grade law,” she said, “we see it in Lenoir County as what are we going to do in K-3 to make sure students are reading at grade level. We are focusing on making sure our children are proficient from the day they enter kindergarten until they graduate high school.”

Benton said students are tested throughout the year, and if teachers see a student is struggling, efforts are made by the teacher to help the student in the area in which they are having trouble.

Benton said where the rubber meets the road, is the part of the law which states that no child can be promoted to fourth grade without showing mastery of third grade reading.

She said parents need to know that reading is something teachers intently focus on in grades K-3. Also intervention and helping struggling readers is something the district has been doing for years.

However, if a student does not show proficiency on the end-of-grade test, Benton said there are provisions in the law to still allow a child to advance to fourth grade, the first of which is taking an alternate test.

“They’ll take an alternate test that is not any easier, but it will be broken up into smaller pieces,” she said.

Benton said the second way is through a good cause exemption, and there are several criteria for obtaining an exemption. One is a student reading portfolio, with assessment reports showing intervention, a personalized education plan has been developed and progress had been made by the student. Other exemptions are for students with disabilities and those for whom English is a second language.

She said a third way to demonstrate proficiency if students are not granted a good cause exemption is a summer reading camp. The camp will be six weeks in length, meeting four days a week for three hours each day. At the end of the camp students will have another chance to pass the reading test.

Benton said any parent questions can be directed either to herself or the principal at their child’s school.

“We welcome their questions,” She said. “Because we’d rather have them find out from us what exactly is going on with this, than to be stressed and wonder.”

Benton said that while there may be a new law in place, the desire among teachers and administrators to properly educate students is the same as it’s always been.

“Everybody’s determined to do everything we can to make sure these children are proficient,” she said.

Noah Clark can be reached at 252-559-1073. Follow him on Twitter @nclark763.s